24 Aug 2014

Opinions

On Tuesday last week, Yasmina Haifi, an official at the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism in the Netherlands, tweeted: "ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. It is a preconceived plan of Zionists who want to deliberately make Islam look bad."
Read more: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4641/isis-zionist-plot#

I was in Israel a while back when I overheard someone who had come for a short visit to the country making a negative comment about Israeli taxi drivers to an Israeli woman. She became incensed and chastised the man, "Can you make a postive comment about Israelis?"
She firther reprimanded him, "It's easy for you to come from your country and criticize us, but I am in the front line and I sacrifice my kids when they join the army and fight to maintain the country so that you can come here when you want or have a place to escape to, if need be, if the situation in your country becomes intolerable."

I was reminded of the conversation when I came across an article in the New York Times in which the author speaks about the end of liberal Zionism and criticizes Israeli racists, Israeli actions and ideologies. I wish the author would spend some time with the Israeli woman who would state her case. If the author comes to Israel, lives under the constant threat of rocket attacks and sends his children to the army, then he could have the option of writing an email to the Prime Minister to express his views. But, in the safety of the diaspora, I believe the man should keep his opinions to himself.